WA Government payment scheme for struggling farmers oversubscribed

The WA Farmers Federation has criticised a State Government scheme for struggling farmers which has been oversubscribed.

Growers who had secured a loan to plant a crop from their financial institution have been able to apply for a one-off Government payment of $25,000.

The federation says more than 350 applications have been made, despite only 200 grants being offered.

The equity conditions required to meet the criteria were set at 55 to 65 per cent.

Federation president Dale Park says that means people in the most dire financial situations were ineligible.

"We always maintained that they were missing the mark anyway so the criteria, the 55 to 65 per cent equity, meant that people weren't going to get them who probably should've and people who probably didn't really need them but that was a Government decision," he said.

"If they had less than that [55 per cent], I don't know whether they applied or not but they wouldn't get it because the wouldn't have 55 per cent equity."

He says there were no other plans in place for assistance to those below the 55 per cent criteria.

"No, the State Government made its attitude very clear that that's what it was doing, so we hit a brick wall on that one," he said.

Mr Park says capping the number of grants offered, rather than distributing the money pro-rata between farmers, ensured a quicker distribution of funds.

"There is a problem that you have to make them timely as well and that's why we agreed to the 200 limit because the timeline is going to mean that it was going to take at least six weeks to get them money out to anyone," he said.

"The amount was capped, it was always going to be for $5 million.

"The deal was if there were a lot more applications than 200, everybody would have got a pro-rata less than the $25,000 and it was going to take at least a month to get that in place, so we agreed, how about you just do first-come, first served."

Meanwhile, a farm management consultant says there is a huge disparity between the condition of crops across the Wheatbelt.

Some crops in parts of the eastern Wheatbelt have not germinated due to low rainfall.

Agvise consultant Shane Sander says some canola crops have died off but there are still areas that are doing well.

"The western parts of the Wheatbelt are looking pretty good," he said.

"South of the Great Eastern Highway from Merredin down through to Bruce Rock it's probably as good as I've seen it for a few years to be honest.

"It's not a very big area but it's also not been especially wet either. Crops are in early, there's been a lot of summer rain. Where crops are in they do look really good."